4 ms·

Great shots. I love interior photos of old military planes and for many of them, what's available is sorely lacking in quality, detailed exploration or perspect

Great shots. I love interior photos of old military planes and for many of them, what's available is sorely lacking in quality, detailed exploration or perspective. Yours are a fine contrast to those tendencies. The spare tires had me wondering though. I mean, if one were to blow upon landing, wouldn't that be such a disaster that having a spare inside the plane becomes sort of irrelevant? Or does the AN-225 have so many wheels (which I suspect given its huge size) that it could indeed blow a couple and still continue landing stably enough for a spare to be useful afterwards? On the other hand, in the air I assume they can hardly replace them and why would they blow while retracted anyhow? No expert but those images in particular sparked some extra curiosity.

nuccy 6y ago
There is a nice video listed below with a pilot of this plane (in russian but with decent english subtitles), he answers to this question. Wheels indeed deflate (not blow) occasionally, this happens when breaks overheat and special thermal plate (at 200C) melts and deflates the wheel gradually, which works as an indicator of overheated break/tyre. Since it happens gradually, there is no danger for the plane itself. The parts for this plane are not that common (they may be shared with An-124 though), so apparently it is easier to carry few wheels than wait for their delivery. The plane caries 10 m.tons of equipment anyway just to load/unload the cargo, so few wheels probably are not that much of a deal.
egorfine 6y ago
They have to carry lots of spare parts due to uniqueness of the plane. Replacement of tires is a routine job; much more cumbersome is her aircraft tow bar. It has to be unloaded from her prior to towing, but it can be unloaded only through the main cargo door. This is why Mriya may occupy the landing strip for half an hour before it can be towed. A major pain.

nuccy 6y ago

There is a nice video listed below with a pilot of this plane (in russian but with decent english subtitles), he answers to this question. Wheels indeed deflate (not blow) occasionally, this happens when breaks overheat and special thermal plate (at 200C) melts and deflates the wheel gradually, which works as an indicator of overheated break/tyre. Since it happens gradually, there is no danger for the plane itself. The parts for this plane are not that common (they may be shared with An-124 though), so apparently it is easier to carry few wheels than wait for their delivery. The plane caries 10 m.tons of equipment anyway just to load/unload the cargo, so few wheels probably are not that much of a deal.

egorfine 6y ago

They have to carry lots of spare parts due to uniqueness of the plane. Replacement of tires is a routine job; much more cumbersome is her aircraft tow bar. It has to be unloaded from her prior to towing, but it can be unloaded only through the main cargo door. This is why Mriya may occupy the landing strip for half an hour before it can be towed. A major pain.